We used to have a positive view of Chipotle, so much so that we had a standard for other restaurants: "Better than Chipotle."

The idea was that Chipotle was what it was and reliably so. If you're going to take a chance on some place you found in an unfamiliar place, it had to be better than Chipotle. Then we came to Lawrence, Kansas and passed up a local burger place for a Chipotle and that Chipotle wasn't the predictable Chipotle and it wrecked the idea of "better than Chipotle." We have never since that day gone to a Chipotle.

And that's what chain restaurants need to know. You have to police the local outlets or your brand is ruined. It was for us.

Taylor Raine, a Black Man of our Community of Color, was overheard wondering why there wasn't a Chipotle Restaurant in his neighborhood.

Mr. Raine corroborated the story.

"If I want Chipotle, I gotta go to the Mall on the other side of the city. I was just asking why there ain't there no Chipotle here'."

Lester Johnson, a friend of Mr. Raine, corroborated the story.

"We was just chilling, and Taylor, he was wanting some Chipotle, but we didn't feel like going all that way to the Mall. I told him it's because Big Business don't trust putting restaurants in our Community."

When asked to elaborate on this, Mr. Johnson smiled.

"They think we'll rob and loot the place and sh*t. Man, I just want some Chipotle, feel me?"

Mr. Raine nodded in agreement.

"F**k, we don't even have a damn Taco Bell. How f**ked up is that?"

Thinking about the situation, Mr. Johnson added this insight.

"If we had a Chipotle I could even maybe get a job there. I need a job."

Mr. Raines nodded in agreement.

"Man, if I can roll a blunt I could certainly make a damn burrito. Sh*t."

So there it is: a Story of Change in our Community of Color. For more stories like this please read 'The Community of Color Gazette'.

"I thought Chipotle's problem was local sources, which means you're taking the same chance as you do in any local restaurant."

It's not that the food made us sick. The problems were things that a franchise should police: the speed and quality of service, the temperature of the food, the cleanliness and good order of the eating space.

I have disliked Chipolte from the first time I saw one in DC. All sharp edges and industrial inside. Very unfriendly. And the food not that great regardless of whether it is safe. Moe's is Chipolte done right. Good food, free chips. (Although nothing can fix bad management in a store, not even the Moe's concept).

The food incident is old news. Restaurants of Chipotle's scale have the ability to fix that and move on.

However, it is expensive and if you are not filling your burrito or bowl with rice and beans they really really really skimp on portions. Also, if you don't drown your choice in a hot salsa, it is really is a flavorless mess.

I have one walking distance from my work and after going 3 times I have never returned. I now go to the Target across the street and pick up $25 of grocery items every week.

The idea was that Chipotle was what it was and reliably so. If you're going to take a chance on some place you found in an unfamiliar place, it had to be better than Chipotle. Then we came to Lawrence, Kansas and passed up a local burger place for a Chipotle and that Chipotle wasn't the predictable Chipotle and it wrecked the idea of "better than Chipotle." We have never since that day gone to a Chipotle.

I rather enjoy going to the random burger joint in small towns, and finding out what they have. Rarely a bust, often great. Our last one was "Budget Burgers" in Lompoc, California. Well worth it, if for some odd reason you find yourself in Lompoc.

"I thought Chipotle's problem was local sources, which means you're taking the same chance as you do in any local restaurant."

Most "local" restaurants get their food from the big national suppliers or regional equivalents. They might splash in a "local" supplier or two to pep up the menu, but the cost advantage of the biggies is too important to ignore.

We aren't Chipotle people because there are better burrito options where we live, but we go once a year because they give out free kids meals when you sign up for the library summer reading program. This year I noticed we were offered free stuff for a return visit. That's never happened before. Business must be suffering. One of my anti-GMO friends swears their health code violations are a Monsanto plot.

Blogger Patrick said... I was feeling like going to Chipotle was rolling the dice, so I basically stopped going. --Oh..C'mon. Just because Chipotle has almost become a verb, doesn't mean you shouldn'tTake a chance..

"The marketing and communications specialist explained that when he started this project in July, he weighed 156lbs and was at 12 per cent body fat. His goal was to get to 170lbs and 14 per cent body fat before getting back down to 150lbs and nine per cent body fat for the summer.

And while Devin insists that Chipotle has enough variety that he has yet to get sick of his new diet, there have been plenty of bumps along the way.

Devin has to do a great deal of planning before vacations and holidays because if there isn't a Chipotle to be found during his travels, he needs to plan ahead and buy an extra meal the day before.

However, his hard work was almost derailed in November, on the 100th day of his challenge, when he woke up to learn that locations were closing in Portland because of an E. coli scare."More on that amazing transformation..

I, for one, prefer my burrito without all those wonderful organic, all-natural, no-pesticide parasites and pathogens that Chipotle is still famous for introducing to the American Tex-Mex dietary intake.

I know what "69" is but I don't see how that has anything to do with burritos and some of us are naturally sheltered from "stoner code words" that are, first of all, numbers and have no relation to my life since I have never known a stoner, let alone his code words. Couldn't these numbers be like the numbering of jokes to eliminate the need to recite them to get a laugh?